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Former first lady Barbara Bush remains in Houston hospital

Former first lady Barbara Bush is doing better after being hospitalized for a respiratory related problem.

(Reuters) - Former first lady Barbara Bush was in a Houston hospital for a third day being treated for a respiratory ailment, a spokesman for her husband's office said.

Bush, 88, was admitted on Monday to Methodist Hospital in Houston's Texas Medical Center, the office of former President George H.W. Bush said on Wednesday.

She was being treated for a "respiratory-related issue," her husband's office said.

There was no new information on her condition as of Wednesday, according to Jim McGrath, a spokesman for her husband's office.

George H.W. Bush was the 41st president of the United States. The former first lady is also the mother of George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. president.

President Barack Obama sent his best wishes to the former first lady in a statement from Hawaii where he is vacationing with his family.

"Barbara is blessed to have both a loving, supportive family by her side and a vibrant spirit that we hope will have her feeling better soon," the president said in the statement. "I know I speak for Americans everywhere when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with Barbara and her family on this New Year's Day."

Barbara Bush was known to the American public as a no-nonsense wife and mother who said she was more interested in running a household than in helping her husband run the country.

After leaving the White House, she pursued her interest in promoting literacy and reading and also wrote her memoirs.

(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst in New York; editing by Barbara Goldberg, Andrea Ricci and Matthew Lewis)